Car-fender.



PATEN'IED NOV. 14, 1905.

A. J. BERG. CAR FENDER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 12.1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 804,790. PATENTED NOV. 14, 1905. A. J. BERG.

GAR FENDER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 12,1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

AUGUST J. BERG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-FE N D E R Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1905.

Application filed July 12, 1905. Serial No- 270.152.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AUGUST J. BERG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Car-Fender, of which the following is aspecilication.

My invention relates to car-fenders which can be folded and placed outof the way when not in use; and the objects of my improvements are,first, to provide afender which can easily and quickly be adjusted intoposition; second,to arrange means for locking the fender in its extendedposition and means for locking the fender in its retracted position;third, to provide mechanism for normally holding the fender up from theground and means for quickly dropping the same; fourth, to make asimple, cheap, and durable device, and other objects to become apparentfrom the description to follow. In car-fenders of this class it is verydesirable to normally have the fender some distance above the groundwhenever desired. It is an advantage to have the mechanism soconstructed that it requires very little effort on the part of theoperator to cause the fender to drop. Another advantage is to have thefender locked in its forward or eX- tended position and in its backwardor folded position, so that it will not move from either of saidpositions accidentally. All of these advantages are attained by the useof my invention, which consists of a fender provided with four hangers,two on either side, which are arranged to travel on two carrier-bars,one on either side, which are secured to the under side of the car, therear end of each carrier-bar being pivotally secured and the forward endof each bar being connected to mechanism for simultaneously loweringboth bars when said mechanism is set in action by the operator, and anapron which is hinged to the fender and rests back against the front ofthe car.

To describe my invention so that others versed in the art to which itpertains will understand it sufciently to make and use the same, I haveillustrated it on the accompanying two sheets of drawings, forming apart of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentallongitudinal sectional view of a car having a fender embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the fender in a loweredposition. Fig.

3 is a plan section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. t is a verticalsection on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

The car 5 is of any ordinary construction.

6 is the car-platform, and 7 represents the timbers under the platform.

The fender 8 is preferably constructed of a tubular frame and woodenslats secured in said frame. The two end tubes of the fenderframe extendback underneath the car some distance, forming the supporting-arms l9.Each arm 9 has secured to it two hangerbrackets 10 (which is secured atthe end of said arm) and 11, (which is located about midway between thebracket 10 and the fender 8.) An apron 12 is pivotally secured to thefender 8, arranged to rest in an upright position against the front endof the car when the fender is in use to prevent the object picked up bythe fender from lodging Linder the car. The fender 8 and apron 12 areentirely supported in position by the brackets 10 and 11, which arearranged to slide on the carrierbar 13. The bar 13 is of such lengththat the fender can be moved from its foremost position in front of thecar to its rearward position underneath the car. Its rear end ispivotally secured at I4 to a bracket 15, secured to the under side ofthe car, and its forward end is connected to 9 and supported by a tripmechanism.

While I will describe the carrier-bar and its attachments in a singularsense, it will be understood that there are two such bars, one neareither side of the car.

The rear end of the bar 13 is bent up where it is secured to the bracket15, which serves to always retain the bar 13 right side up. This rearend of the bar 13 is preferably provided with a plurality ofperforations or boltholes to enable the adjustment of the fender when itis secured to the car. About midway its length the bar 13 is bent toform an offset 15,`inclining upward from back to front, and the frontend of said bar is bent up and back over itself in such manner as toform the depression 17 and the overhangi-ng free end 18. The bar 13serves as a track for the brackets 10 11 to slide on, there being a pinor bolt 19 through the forked portion of each bracket above the bar 13.Greater weight being to the front of bracket 1l than there is to therear of same, the pull will be down on the bracket 11 and up on thebracket 10. This will assist in retaining the bolt 19 in said bracketsecurely resting in the socket or depression lOO 17. The bracket 10 isprovided with an integral arm or lug just below the bar 13 to prevent itfrom being lifted and allowing the fender 8 to drop too far down.

In its normal position when in use the fender extends some distanceforward of the front end of thc car, as shown by full lines in Fig. 1,and when the fender is not in use (as when the car is traveling in theopposite direction or is coupled to another car) it is pushed to aposition under the car, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. When thefender 8 is in its operative or forward position, as shown in full linesin Fig. 1, it is supported entirely by the carrier bars 13 and abouteight inches above the ground.

The fender is arranged to be dropped at will by mechanism to bedescribed, and I am not 4aware 4that a fender has been made previous tomy invention which was supported by carrier-bars pivoted at their rearends and mechanism connected to their front ends for supportinganddropping them simultaneously, and I therefore make claim to such adevice broadly, no matter what the construction is of the mechanism forsupporting and lowering the front ends of the carrier-bars.

It will be understood, of course, that when the front ends of thecarrier-bars 13 are lowered the fender 8 will be lowered. It isimportant that this lowering of the fender can be accomplished quicklyand with very little physical exertion on the part of the operator ofthe car, and to this end I have arranged that the gravitating force ofthe fender acts as the power to lower the same after it h as beenreleased by the operation of a tripping mechanism. rlhis can beaccomplished in a number of ways, which will suggest themselves to themind of an ordinary mechanic; but I have shown and will describe aconstruction which at present I consider the best for the purpose.

The free end 18 of the bar 13 is preferably provided with a plurality ofholes, one of which serves to receive a pin or bolt on which the lowerend of a yoke or U-shaped link -20 is pivoted, the upper end of saidlink 20 being provided with a perforation through which loosely extendsthe crank 21 of the crank-shaft 22. The one shaft 22 serves to operateboth carrier-bars 13, there being a crank 21 on either end of said shaft22. The shaft 22 is journaled near either end in the hook-shaped ends ofthe strap-irons 23, which are bolted to the under side of thecar-platform 6, a pin being passed through said hookshaped ends justabove the shaft, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to prevent the shaft fromaccidentally being lifted or jolted out of its' bearing. The shaft 22 ispreferably made of two separate pieces rigidly secured together byinserting them into an iron pipe 24 and riveting through pipe andshafts, the pipe conveniently serving to limit the end play of the shaftby its ends resting against the strapirons 23.

From the description thus far given it will be seen that when the cranks21 are in their upper position, as shown in Fig. 1, the fender 3 is upsome distance above the ground and when the cranks 21 are in their lowerposition, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the fender 8 is contacting withthe ground, the fender and the bars 1.3 pivoting about the points 14 inmoving from the one position into the other. rIhe normal position of thecranks 21 is above the. shaft 22 substantially on a deadcenter withrespect to the pull exerted on said cranks by the gravitating force ofthe fender 8, bars 13, and the connections. To bring the fender into itsnormal raised position, the front end of the fender is lifted by manualforce. This relieves the cranks 21 from all downward pull, and the shaft22 is immediately revolved about a half-revolution by the coiled spring25, which encircles the pipe 24 and has one end secured to said pipe andthe remaining end secured to a fixed part of the car, which mayconveniently be one of the strap-irons 23, to bring the cranks 21 abovethe shaft 22. rIhe shaft 22 is limited in its revolution caused by thespring 25 by the radial portion of the cranks 21 contacting with anextension 26 on the strap-irons 23. (Clearly shown in Fig. 4. Thetension of the spring 25 is strong enough to revolve the shaft 22 tobring the cranks 21 from their lower position to their upper positionwhen the fender 8 is lifted, but is too weak to prevent the shaft frombeing turned by the weight of the fender to bring the cranks 21 fromtheir upper position to their lower position when once the cranks arebut slightly moved out of deadcenter away from the extensions 26. Itrequires very little power to move the cranks 21 out of dead-center,because the cranks which carry the weight are being moved about in ahorizontal line and the tension of the spring 25 is slight. f

Any convenient means may be provided whereby the person operating thecar can easily move the cranks 21 out of dead-center. I have shown onewhich may be considered preferable, since it provides a loose pin orbolt 27, which is inserted through a hole in the platform 6 and engagesa finger or arm 28,'

rigidly secured to the pipe 24. The lower end ofthe pin 27 normallyrests on the arm 28, which projects about horizontally from the pipe 24when the fender is in a raised position, and when the operator depressesthe pin 27 with his foot the pipe 24, and therefore the shaft 22, isrevolved sufficiently to bring the cranks 21 out of dead-center,whereupon the weight of the fender will continue to revolve the shaftuntil the cranks 21 are directly below the shaft, as shown in Fig. 2.The pin IOO IOS

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27 can be removed by the operator and used y on the other end of the carwhen the direction of travel is reversed, so the fender cannot belowered by any one except the operator. The pin 27 is provided with ahead to prevent it passing entirely through the hole in the platformafter an operation.

A chain 29 is connected between the apron 12 and a part secured to thecar, which may conveniently be the shaft 22. This automatically liftsthe apron and holds it in position when the fender is pulled forward.

When the fender is out of service and pushed back on the bars 13 underthe car, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the bolt 19 in thebracket 11 passes just back of the offset 16 in the bars 13, whichprevents the fender from being jolted forward out of position.

Having thus Afully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. Inadevice of the class described, a fender having its rearwardextensions pivotall y connected to the car and means comprising a shaftprovided with a crank at either end and an arm secured to said shaftarranged to be engaged by a sliding pin extending vertically through thecar-platform whereby said shaft will receive its initial movement bydepressing said pin, for quickly lowering the forward part of thefender.

2. In a device of the class described, two bars having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said arms, and means comprising a shaft provided with acrank at either end for normally holding in a raised position andquickly lowering the forward ends of said arms.

3. In a device of the class described, two rails secured to the car, afender arranged to travel forward and back on said rails, and an offsetin said rails to coperate with the engaging part of the fender when inits rearward position, whereby the fender is prevented from movingforward until lifted to pass said offset.

4. In a device ofthe class described, two rails secured to the car, afender arranged to travel forward and back on said rails, and adepression in the forward end of said rails to coperate with theengaging part of said fender when in its forward position whereby thefender is prevented from moving back until lifted out of saiddepression.

5. In a device of the class described, two rails secured to the car, afender arranged to travel forward and back on said rails, an offset insaid rails to coperate with the engaging part of the fender when in itsrearward position, whereby the fender is prevented from moving forwarduntil lifted to pass said oifset, and a depression in the forward end ofsaid rails to coperate with the engaging part of said fender when in itsforward position whereby the fender is prevented from moving back untillifted out of said depression.

6. In a device of the class described, two rails having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said rails, an offset in said rails to coperate with theengaging part of said fender when in its rearward position whereby thefender is prevented from moving forward until lifted to pass saidoffset, and means for normallyv supporting and quickly lowering theforward ends of said rails.

7. In a device of the class described, two rails having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel Aforwardand back on said rails, a depression in the forward end of said rails tocoperate with the engaging part of the fender when in its forwardposition whereby the fender is prevented from moving back until liftedout of said depression and means for normally supportingI and quicklylowering the forward ends of said rails.

3. In a device of the class' described, two rails having' their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said rails, an offset in said rails to coperate with theengaging part of said fender when in its rearward position whereby thefender is prevented from moving forward until lifted to pass saidoffset, a depression in the forward end of said rails to coperate withthe engaging part of the fender when in its forward position whereby thefender is prevented from moving back until lifted out of saiddepression, and means for normally supporting and quickly lowering theforward ends of said rails.

9. In a device of the class described, two rails secured to the car, afender arranged to travel forward and back on said rails, an apronpivoted to said fender and a chain connected between said apron and saidcar whereby the apron is automatically raised to and held in an uprightposition when the fender is moved to its forward position.

10. In a device of the class described, a fender having its rearextensions pivotally secured to the car means for moving said fenderunder the car and means comprising a shaft provided with a crank ateither end and links connecting said cranks to said fender for loweringthe forward part of said fender.

11. In a device of the-class described, a fender having its rearwardextensions pivotally secured to the car and means for supporting theforward part of said fender; said means comprising a rock-shaft mountedin bearings secured to the car and provided at either end with a crankand lugs on said bearings to engage said cranks to prevent a completerotation of said shaft.

12. In a device of the class described, a fender having its rearwardextensions pivotally secured to the car and means for lowering theforward part of said fender; said means com- IOO IIO

prising a rock-shaft mounted in bearings secured to the car and providedat either end with a crank, lugs on said bearings to engage said cranksto prevent a complete rotation of said shaft and links connecting saidcranks to said fender.

13. In a device of the class described, a fender having its rearwardextensions pivotally secured to the car and means for lowering theforward part of said fender; said means comprising a shaft provided witha crank at either end an arm secured to said shaft arranged to' beengaged by a sliding pin extending vertically through the platformwhereby said shaft will receive its initial movement by depressing saidpin and a spring to normally hold said cranks in an elevated position.

14. In a device ofthe class described, a fender having its rearwardextensions pivotally connected to the car and means for lowering theforward part of said fender; said means comprising a hollow rock-shafthaving secured in either end rods bent to form cranks on the exterior ofsaid shaft, bearings secured to the car in which said shaft is mounted,lugs on said bearings to engage said cranks to limit the rotation ofsaid shaft, an arm secured to said shaft arranged to be engaged by asliding pin extending vertically through the car-platform whereby saidshaft will receive its initial movement by depressing said pin and aspring interposed between said shaft and said bearing to normally hold.said cranks in engagement with said lugs.

15. In a device of the class described. a fender having its rearwardextensions pivotally secured to the car and means for lowering the frontpart of said fender comprising a rockshaft provided at either end with acrank connected to one end of a link forming the connection with thefender, an arm secured to said shaft arranged to be engaged by a slidingpin extending through the car-platform whereby said shaft will receiveits initial movement by depressing said pin.

16. In a device of the class described, two bars having their rearwardends pivotally connected to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said bars and means for lowering the forward ends of saidbars; said means comprising a shaft provided with a crank at either endand a coiled spring about said shaft to normally hold said cranks in anelevated position.

17. In a device of the class described, two bars having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said bars and means whereby the weight of the forward endsof said bars is supported by a part arranged to swing about a center.

18. In a device of the class described, twol bars having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said bars and means comprising a rock-shaft for lowering theforward ends of said bars.

. 19. In a device of the class described` two bars having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said bars and means comprising a rock-shaft provided with acrank at either end for lowering the front ends of said bars.

20. In a device of the class described, two bars having their rearwardends pivotallysecured to the car, va fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said-bars and means comprising a rock-shaft provided with acrank at either end and means for giving said rockshaft its initialmovement for lowering the forward ends of said bars.

21. In a device of the class described, two bars having their rearwardends pivotally secured to the car, a fender arranged to travel forwardand back on said bars and means for lowering the forward ends of saidbars com'- prising a rock-shaft provided at either end with a crankconnected to one end of a link forming the connection with the forwardends of said bars, an arm secured to said shaft arranged to be engagedby asliding pin extending vertically through the car-platform wherebysaid shaft will receive itsinitial movement by depressing said pin.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name t0 this specification, inpresence of two subscribing witnesses. this 22d day 0f June, 1905, atChicago, Illinois.

AUGUST J. BERG.

Vitnesses:

LoUIsn BERG, EMIL PETERSON.

